I always hear people saying how they have four horses and they are the only one that rides them? Or someone posts "GOT A NEW HORSE" a month after they posted about their OTHER horse don't get me wrong I understand you love horses.......but I have had the same little 21 year old American paint for about 5 years now and she acts like she's 4 lol I wouldn't trade her for the world! I am constantly training her and teaching her new things to make her the best she can be I don't understand why I would get two other horses and abuse my mares training?
WHY IS ONE JUST NOT ENOUGH??

I have 3, and love all of them. Each are different, and have talents the others don't. For example, my ex-racer is my foxhunting and hunter pace mount. My Arabian gelding is my trail horse. The old guy is retired, and is my Pasture Maintenance Supervisor.

I'm not sure why you think having and riding more than 1 horse is 'abusing their training'. Each have something to give, and as long as all are loved and cared for properly, it shouldn't matter how many horses someone else has.

Well I personally have no horses, but there's several reasons I can think of.
A person's different horses may be used for different things. For example if someone rides rides huntseat and western, they may have a different horse for each.
Or if someone has outgrown an old pony/moved past their horse's level, they may get a new one but not want to give up their old horse.
Some people might have a show horse and a project horse they are training.

I'm sure some people who are actually in this situation will have better answers.

I have 10 horses, and we raised several of them. I wouldn't trade many of them for the world. All of them get used, and personally, 5 of them are mine. 2 yearlings, a 4 year old, a 6 year old and an 11 year old.

They all get worked and used as much as possible (except the yearlings... but they get irritated..aka: groundwork) training is never done with any of them, here's always more to do.

I don't see whats wrong with liking to work with many horses? I have the 5 at home, and I get to work with 15 or more at work. It's what I like. I like learning about different horses and how to work with them and their problems and what not. It's how I'd like to spend much of my life (if everything works out....)

What Fringe and Speed Racer said. Plus, if you have your horses at home, it's almost a necessity to have more than one. Horses are herd animals and need companionship.

It's great that you have one horse that you can love and devote all your attention to. However, there's nothing wrong with having multiple horses, and no reason one horse's training should have to suffer just because you have another one to ride too.

for me, I have a saddle horse I ride because I love trails and riding in general,

a baby for a project, because I adore young horses and find nothing more satisfying that doing all the work on a baby your self and eventually either starting it under saddle or finding it a great home as a well mannered project. It also gives me something to do in the barn when the weather is bad.

and I currently have Romeo. I didn't need him, but he needed me, and I could not say no. If he hadn't come home with me that day he would be in a can by this point.

So do I NEED more than one? no. But I like to, and I have the time and funds to appropriately support the number I have.

Horses are herd animals and need to be with other horses.
My parents started me off when one horse, and they couldn't fathom why I wanted more. But, I now have 4 and they realize how important it was to have more than one horse.

First horse Dream had a baby, so that brought my number up. Dream was an amazing western pleasure horse, but I needed a new drill horse. She wasn't fast enough, and had issues with kicking at other horses. Mango had passed away at the early age of 21, and I couldn't quit drill and Sassy was only 1..

So, along came Rosie. Rosie is 21 now also, but she does Foundation(ranch type) shows with me. She can still do drill, but I had to quit this year for college:'(

Rosie helped me win Dusty in a contest. Dusty is going to be my show horse through college and beyond, either reining, cutting or sorting (currently in training).

Rosie is slowing down a tad but still kicks butt at shows. She still has many years of service available, but when the time comes for her to retire, Dusty will be there as my Foundy show horse. I could never sell Rosie as I have personal morals against selling senior horses, and she has been my partner for the past 4? years. She'll be with me till her last day:)

Sassy is an illegitimate child, unknown to the REAL owners of the stud we bred to, so there is never any chance of getting papers out of her. I refuse to sell her, because I know it wouldn't take long before somebody would give her a first class ticket to the kill pens. She has an attitude a mile wide and a personality to match her name. Given, yes, she is an amazing horse, but she has a serious "I'm the best, your so stupid, I'll do whatever I want" problem XD

There are many reasons for having more than 1 horse. I don't ride Dream very much any more, and it breaks my heart to have grown from her, but she needs a new home where she will be used and shown.:'(

i'll have to stay out of this one, we have over 4 dozen. ALL get ridden more than once a week (except the seniors, about once a week). they work. they work the ranch. when we work cows, there will be ten plus of us out there and we work on one horse all morning then after dinner switch to another horse, so thats twenty plus in one day. if its hard work we rest them in between days. when we have over 1000 head it can take over a week to finish working them. then we have our "pleasure horses" and i have barrel horses. i certainly dont cut and work cattle with my barrel horses or pleasure horses.

THEY ALL HAVE A PURPOSE.

Be the kind of woman who, when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says "oh sh*t she's up!"RIP Sully and Jetta (4/24/11 lightening storm)

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